Chapter – 20
First of all, Lyeon was shocked to discover that he had mastered the Falling Star Twelve Swords to the fifth level.
Well, the Falling Star Twelve Swords is the basic sword art taught even to escorts working for the clan’s Meteor Escort Agency…
Even so, for someone whose main occupation was merchant work to reach the fifth level meant he had put in extraordinary effort.
Geon Eon-jo warmly welcomed Lyeon as soon as he saw her.
“Oh! How can a child who only recently awakened be so articulate and bright-eyed?”
Lyeon almost muttered, I’m already eight and nearly nine years old, but stopped herself.
To old men like them, she probably still looked like a baby.
Geon Eon-jo repeatedly congratulated her on waking up and praised her intelligence without end.
Throughout it all, Danmok Cheon-gi merely listened with occasional grunts and coughs.
He did not seem particularly pleased, yet he made no attempt to stop him.
Only after the tea had gone cold did Geon Eon-jo pull a small porcelain bottle from his robes and address Lyeon.
“Now then, about this Azure Lotus Water you sent me.”
The little cluster of starlight floating above Lyeon’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“I heard it was made by the Danmok Clan’s pharmacy. I thought perhaps I could sell it, so I spoke with the Grand Elder. But he said I should discuss it with the head pharmacist. Then the head pharmacist told me I needed your permission first.”
The conversation had taken such a sudden turn that Lyeon looked at Danmok Cheon-gi.
Only then did he break his silence.
“She made it herself. If someone wishes to do something with it, they should obtain her permission first.”
Lyeon was surprised that Danmok Cheon-gi would say something like that.
Then she was surprised again when Geon Eon-jo accepted it without hesitation.
“My goodness! The child truly has talent, Grand Elder. They say an immortal carried her away and returned her to us. Perhaps those rumors were true after all.”
“Enough nonsense.”
Danmok Cheon-gi waved him off.
“So what exactly are you planning to do with it?”
“If I wasn’t planning something, why would I rush all the way here? Do you think I came merely to flatter you and make you feel better?”
Danmok Cheon-gi gave a small cough.
It was obvious he suspected that might indeed have been part of the reason.
Geon Eon-jo shook his head and personally pulled out a chair for Lyeon.
“When applied to the fingertips, the mind becomes clear. Rub it on the temples and headaches disappear while drowsiness vanishes. Apply it to sore muscles and the tension melts away. One of my servants had a runny nose, so I rubbed some beneath it. The next day his cold was completely gone!”
He explained excitedly that he had even applied it to aching finger joints after long hours of reviewing ledgers.
When the pain disappeared, he had immediately rushed over.
“This will sell. It absolutely will! We must bring it to market!”
After quietly listening to his praise, Lyeon asked:
“How much should we sell it for?”
Geon Eon-jo immediately fell silent.
The room suddenly seemed wrapped in stillness.
Even the sound of a distant bird taking flight could be heard.
Only after a while did he answer.
“The physicians at Hoseon Clinic told me that to make even a small profit on a single spoonful of essential oil, the minimum price would be ten copper coins.”
One copper coin could buy a decent meal for two people.
Ten coins was enough to stay five days at a respectable inn.
Lyeon quickly did the calculations.
“However,” Geon Eon-jo continued, “that doesn’t include the value of developing the formula itself. The ingredients all vary in cost. We would need to calculate production capacity as well…”
After listening carefully, Lyeon reached her conclusion.
“The Azure Lotus Water I gifted you is made using a special method. As you said, it can’t be produced in large quantities. How about one spoonful for one hundred copper coins—that is, one tael of silver—and we package it in beautiful porcelain bottles?”
The price had suddenly increased tenfold.
Interest flashed across Geon Eon-jo’s eyes.
“The servant standing over there doesn’t earn one tael of silver in a month. Who would buy it?”
“The people who want it.”
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
He chuckled.
“We sell jars of West Lake Dragon Well tea for one tael of silver and still can’t keep them in stock. But does a tiny bottle of Azure Lotus Water truly hold that much value?”
Lyeon smiled.
Then she asked something entirely different.
“If we make a contract with the Mansong Merchant Guild, who would oversee this business?”
“One of my children.”
“Which one?”
Geon Eon-jo tilted his head with interest.
“My eldest, Wi-jeong, has spent years helping with family business. He has a keen eye for opportunities. My second son, Wi-un, examines everything carefully and tests every stone bridge before crossing it. Well then—which one would you choose?”
Lyeon clenched her fist beneath the table.
She already knew the answer.
Geon Wi-jeong’s so-called business sense was mostly luck.
The truly capable one was Geon Wi-un.
In her memories, Wi-un had failed to inherit the Mansong Merchant Guild and instead founded his own trading company.
Later, while the Mansong Guild crumbled under Wi-jeong’s management, Wi-un’s new enterprise dominated the Jiangnan region.
But neither of them was the person she wanted.
“Do you not have a third child?”
“Hahaha!”
Geon Eon-jo laughed.
“Not every merchant’s child enters business. My third son, Wi-hak, studies for the civil examinations. He’s preparing for the provincial examination.”
Although he spoke casually, he clearly harbored hopes for his son’s success.
Geon Eon-jo originally came from a famous merchant family in Huizhou.
The Huizhou merchants were famous for raising their children to pass the imperial examinations and enter government service.
Even after settling in Zhejiang, that tradition remained.
And your dream is going to come true.
Lyeon smiled brightly.
“Then I would like Uncle Wi-hak to oversee it.”
“Uncle?”
Geon Eon-jo burst out laughing.
“Forget formal titles. Calling him uncle is enough. That should be acceptable, Grand Elder?”
“Well, since you’re my sworn younger brother, the family relation is technically more distant…”
“Oh, who cares about all that? If he’s uncle-aged, then uncle is fine.”
He laughed heartily.
Lyeon’s eyes widened.
Inviting her to call the Guild Master’s son “uncle” meant Geon Eon-jo intended for the friendship between himself and Danmok Cheon-gi to continue into the next generation.
“Then Uncle Wi-hak—”
“But I just told you. He doesn’t work in the merchant guild.”
“But, Elder.”
Lyeon shook her head.
“If people hear that someone used Azure Lotus Water and then achieved first place in the imperial examination, won’t there be people willing to pay one tael of gold for a single bottle?”
Geon Eon-jo froze.
“I don’t need Uncle Wi-hak to manage the product. I simply want him to use it.”
After finishing her discussion with Geon Eon-jo, Lyeon left Moon Shadow Pavilion.
Near the reception hall, she noticed someone lingering nearby.
They look familiar…
The person’s eyes were identical to those of the elderly Guild Master she had just met.
The face was younger and more attractive, however.
What puzzled her was the clothing.
The woman was disguised as a man.
Not only that, she was dressed far more plainly than Geon Eon-jo—almost like a servant or coachman.
Yet her sharp eyes, so similar to Geon Eon-jo’s, felt strangely out of place with the humble outfit.
Lyeon summoned the Heavenly Sight over her sleeve.
A name appeared.
Geon Wi-un
Falling Star Twelve Swords: Level 2
Infinite Steps: Level 2
Current Concerns:
- How to put an end to Geon Eon-jo’s favoritism toward his eldest son.
- How to stop Geon Wi-jeong’s wasteful spending.
Geon Wi-un? Wait… why is she dressed like a servant?
The situation was so absurd that Lyeon ended up speaking before she realized it.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah! Young Miss Lyeon!”
The servant standing beside Wi-un immediately turned pale.
Quickly stepping in front of her, he bowed repeatedly.
“W-We are merely waiting for our master… for the Guild Master. Yes, we’re here to escort him home.”
“I know that. But Miss Wi-un—”
The servant practically jumped.
It felt as though he leaped as high as Lyeon herself.
“N-No! What are you saying, Young Miss? That’s not—”
The poor servant flailed around in panic, nearly in tears.
Then Geon Wi-un pulled him back.
“Enough. We’ve already been discovered. Stop talking nonsense.”
“But, Miss…”
Wi-un shook her head.
Then she clasped her hands respectfully and bowed toward Lyeon.
“Young Miss Lyeon. I am Geon Wi-un. You have witnessed an embarrassing sight.”
Her voice was cool and detached, yet perfectly courteous and refined.
Even though the Danmok Clan was now in decline, it was still a martial clan that had once ruled the region like a king.
Respect was still due.
A spark of interest appeared in Lyeon’s eyes.
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you come like this?”
She tilted her head.
“You came together with Grandpa Geon, didn’t you?”
